St. Landry democrat., 1887-10-08
THEIR TOUR.
HOW THE COUNTRY COUPLE TOOK
THEIR WEDDING JOURNEY.
Marriage Arranged t. oJmbine Business
With Pleasure-He Carried the SatcheI,
She the Bouquet-What the Bride Saw
Why She Dreaded the Old Home.
tCODurtQhted, ISL

llOn lnat IL was their wedding journey
hat they lived in the country; that he
had arranged to be married so us to com
hine business with pleasure buy in his
fall stock at the same time that he made
this wedding trip-which seemed sort
Of perfunCtOry matter with him. MOI
that he did not do his devuir to the bes,
Of his ability. He carried the satchcls
three Of them, one a small and fancifuI
affair, which she should have carried her.
self. But he did it with the air Of ''just
this once" And she carried her bouquet
of roses; stepped obediently, and as he
told her, on and off Inc ferry boat, on
and off the platform, and looked at him
every other moment with a glance, half
fear Of not doing right, half proud pro-
prietOrship in the big, strong man who
knew so we'll where to 60 and what to
! to. All the story of their lives was
written in those two figures and faces
he, "self-m ade," according to the popu-
tar way Of looking at man who
mas used everything and every one
! TO further his own ends, since his
| consciousness grasped the idea Of his own
Individuality she, pretty, 1mid, vet
with little pcrtness and coquctrv that
would not stand much in a conflict with
| lie stubborn will embodied in the man
| beside her. | fancied she had lost her
! father for there were little touches of
| black and white and gray about her
| costume, and it was not her mother | was
sure, for the details Of all her belOngings
were too well looked after and she had
| money of her own, for she took out her
| purse to give five cents to a beggar in
| spite of an impatient exclamation from
| her newly-made husband Poor girl she
was happy, at least she believed herself
to be 50, and she could not bear the
sight Of poverty or misery during this
sweet GROWING period of her short life.
She was not very wise, not very thought
full, and had probably not taken into the
smallest account what the future might
have in store for her. She had never
known want evidently; for while
her dress, her manner and whole
antourage lacked the finish and
refinement of cultivated wealth,
there had evidently been no lack
of money for such objects of use and
adOrnment as came within the scope of
her ideas and experience. One could
see what her life had been: The pretty
daughter of well-to-do tradesman, or
farmer, whose early years had been spent
at the district school-later at the high"
school-with finishing touch perhaps
at boarding school, neither the family
ambition, nor her own, soaring to col
lege-a belle in her way, and an object
of pursuit to more than one of the young
men of the township who admired her
and had no objection to handling some
of her fathers money. But she had
given them all the go-by for this rather
hard and self-contained person, who had
perhaps worked for her father and won
his way up by logged perseverance from
poor boy to successful man. She had
not been so very much in love with him
it is doubtful if she was capable of
very deep or ardent affection. But he
had grown into desirable parsonage in
her small world-he had been a reserved
young man, had the reputation of being
cold, and her pride was aroused at the
thought of having subdued him.
Poor little thing! she had no more idea
of the kind Of place she held in that
mans heart and life than she had of the
Central Africas or the wilds of Siberia
Their courtship had progressed without
much difficulty, because when he made
up his mind to marry her he did not in
tend there should be any difficulty. His
reasons for the step were such as to sat
isfy his keen scent for the main chance
but he kept these to himself For the |
rest her looks pleased him, and her char
acter was such as he wanted in wife, |
not too smart, and comfortable. Did |
he take into account the strength of |
the weakness of such woman,
| wondered; her capacity for fret
ting and nervousness, the small circle
of her interests and ideas, her tenacity
of wrong impression and persistence in
working through crooked little paths to
get her own way. Nothing of this had
been seen in her as yet. Since the hour
of her engagement she had been full of
excitement and joyous anticipation. An
engaged girl is always an object of in
terest to her companions as well as to
her home circle. Then this was an en-
gagement upon which both parties and
all directly interested could be congratu-
lated. All the girls in the village ere
jealous and thought it was just like her
luck-she always got the best of every
thing.
But it did not prevent them from max
ing her tides and cushions and shams
and bureau covers. And in the reception
of these and gifts still more important,
in the preparation of her outfit, which
required several journeys to the nearest
town, in the discussion of the momen-
tous question whether to be married in
white or in travelling" dress-not the
real travelling dress, of course, but the
handsome short costume which is called
by that name-and in little tiffs all on
her own side, which confirmed her family
in the belief that she was marrying a
man of angelic disposition, the time
wore speedily away. Not a small part
Of her paradise had consisted of her brief
the gifts and argosies brought
to her, the longing desire to travel, to